Top-10 IT Mistakes Costing SME's Fortunes - Even BEFORE Any Tech-Talk

Copyright Numata Business IT (Pty) Ltd
THE ALL-TIME
IT Mistakes Costing SMEs

BEFORE ANY TECH-TALK
AND HOW TO AVOID MAKING THEM
The SME Decision Makers NON-technical IT Guide:

Lowest Cost & Best Return to help you rival large Companies.
Need some assistance with above? Click here
Copyright Numata Business IT (Pty) Ltd www.numata.co.za
Avoiding 10 Costly IT Mistakes most SMEs make

Recently voted Top 5 Managed IT Services Provider in Africa by MSP Mentor - Numata Business IT - a small South-African group of business-IT specialists reveal the 10 Costly IT Mistakes SMEs with 10 - 150 staff make.
Most SME Owners consider IT too technical a conversation, delegating it to those concerned with buzzwords, budgets or keeping their jobs - rather than the holistic insight or feedback to superiors. We estimate 80% of IT problems facing SMEs to be management related and NOT technical. Subsequently 10 IT Management Myths exist in the SME sector. We see this daily - even in well-known, mid-sized operations with fairly high earnings.
- Numata Head of Operations, Ruan de Lange.
This e-book is a culmination of daily efforts stretching 7-years

to illuminate 10 IT Mistakes most SMEs make, so you can
reclaim IT from the expense column, revive IT as a strategic weapon, and rival Giant Corporations with no IT skills necessary - whether you employ 5 or 500 staff.
The Million-Dollar IT Question Every SME Executive Asks

Recent polls reveal as many as 54 from 100 South African Companies (mostly SMEs) rely on some type of IT outsourcing, suggesting its stressful enough to run your own business than still worry about Cloud Computing, Virtualisation, and a gazillion other complexities IT spawns every single day. By the time youve mastered one buzzword five others seem to have replaced it. One would think with more inventions than we could use, theyd at least have mastered the basics by now; how to NOT let an internet link or e-mail server bomb out as you click send on that vital quote, proposal or invoice. Wouldnt it be great if instead of 100 new technologies, IT mad scientists invented ways NOT to have to pay an IT technician hundreds by the hour for fixing what seems in 10 clicks and 5-minutes, to be the same common, recurring IT problems? You spend thousands on hardware, thousands on software, thousands on making them work together, thousands on KEEPING them working, thousands on fixing them when they break, thousands on replacing them, and for all the bills while you know theyre important you still cant see any cash value or number IT really adds to your profits every month? How, on top of this, do you still justify a budget for improving or expanding IT, if all it seems to do is add to your expense column? How do you remove hardearned profits from core operations and spend them on a cash drain instead? What could an IT Strategy possibly add towards your cash flow when even the basics seem to deplete a large chunk of it every month? Why invest in IT, when all it seems to do is distract from your core business? While theres a strong case for large companies to invest fortunes in strategic advantage from IT, how can the small business owner really benefit? These IT questions and more have bugged SME Executives for almost 2 decades.
This e-book answers 10 that hurt SME bottom lines the most...
Top 10 Mistakes made by SMEs in IT
1. 2. 3.
4.
IT is not a profit-generator. IT adds no business value. IT Strategy is not important for SMEs.
If IT aint broke, dont fix IT.
5.
6.
IT is difficult to budget for.

IT requires large investment.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Buying on Specification and Price IT demands onsite technical expertise. Cutting IT Costs VS. Total Cost of IT Short VS. Long View on IT Conclusion How to Overcome the 10 IT Mistakes
Mistake #1
IT is not a profit-generator...
Ever calculated your true cost of IT being offline, for 1-hour?
For most companies, IT is just a tool and not a source of revenue. So when drafting your income sheet, it goes into the expense column. The figures that dont make it are the cost- & time savings IT contributes to operations and customer service; as well as downtime losses incurred when IT is offline or performing suboptimally, usually at the most inopportune of times - like when you need to send urgent invoices, proposals, or make online transfers.
SIMPLIFIED - the most significant losses to an Even though IT is not seen as a profit generator, SME, would be labour most customer- and supplier-centric businesses and potential revenue: come to a screeching halt when staff systems,
LABOR COST = P x E x R x H
P = number of people affected E = average percentage they are affected R = average employee cost per hour H = number of hours of outage
networks, e-mail or web services are offline losing fortunes in productivity & recovery costs. IT might ultimately not generate your profits, but it certainly can destroy them, when services are not working as steadily or reliably as they should.
Have you calculated your hourly cost of IT downtime yet?
LOST REVENUE = (GR/TH) x I x H

GR = gross yearly revenue TH = total yearly business hours I = percentage impact H = number of hours of outage
Mistake #2
IT adds no business value
Best-Practice IT Frameworks like ITIL list the following measurable
contributions IT
IT Standards like ITIL, COBIT and others, deliver concrete indicators for calculating business value of IT, in line with business goals for ANY type and size of business. Shifting perspective to the importance of IT in pursuit of business goals, and the difference you want IT to make in your company, is supported and measured by IT frameworks suiting your business goals.
Because IT is listed as an expense by most SMEs, they have no way of measuring any contributions IT makes to the business. The longer you think of, classify, or treat IT as an expense, the longer it stays one.
makes in business:
Run the Business (RTB)
Maintaining Current Operations Increase Efficiencies
Grow the business (GTB)

Grow the scope of services Find New Customers
Transform the business (TTB)

Create new capabilities Enter New Markets
Mistake #3
IT Strategy is not important for SMEs
Working in IT with SME clients, we often uncover the misconception that IT Strategy is only practical for large Corporations, and not SMEs with only a few PCs or network users. Conversely, consider some of the actual areas left today, in which small companies can still rival the Giant Corporations. It is certainly not always likely to be cost, price or value, as large companies often have the benefit of: Economies of scale Immense purchasing power Rigorous quality assurance Cash flow and Credit Facilities Distributed networks and footprints Dominant Market share
The majority of Large Corporations today, all have internal IT Departments costing them a fortune, which evolved on-demand over many years, tied to legacy systems and methods which often inflate operating costs, rarely offering much competitive advantage anymore. This is where SMEs have the advantage. They are agile, responsive and lean on resources, when managed smartly. IT is probably the single largest unmanaged expense in which SMEs can recover inefficiencies.
Gartner Says Effective Management Can Cut Total Cost of Ownership for Desktop PCs by 42%
For a large company, the cost of purchasing a desktop PC may be only $1,200, but, kept for four years, the total cost of ownership (TCO) could be as much as $5,867 per year, according to Gartner Inc.
Egham, UK, March 10, 2008
Non-core activities like IT are fast becoming the new little hidden pockets of untapped potential for SMEs, in which to make the BIGGEST difference when taking on the giants.
Mistake #4
If IT aint broke, dont fix IT
Youre not likely to buy a new Mercedes, run it down without fuel, oil, service and a periodic detail, or race it off the showroom floor without any insurance, right?
Annual cost of IT failure:
$6.2 trillion
By Michael Krigsman | September 30, 2009, 6:10am PDT
Why should your IT systems be different?

Some studies estimate that every R1 you spend on IT hardware & software today, will ask an additional R4 spent over the next 3-to-5 years for maintenance, repairs and user support - not to mention cost of downtime, or loss of productivity. Would it not make sense then to provision SOME funds for preventative measures, to increase the lifespan, value and utility from your IT purchases & services, PROTECTING your investment - no matter HOW small?
The total annual cost of worldwide IT failures is $6.2 trillion dollars, according to calculations performed by Roger Sessions, ber-expert enterprise architect and CTO of ObjectWatch.
According to the World Technology and Services Alliance, countries spend, on average, 6.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on Information Communications Technology, with 43% of this spent on hard0077are, software, and services.
Mistake #5
IT is difficult to budget for
IT Governance
The only reason you should find IT difficult to forecast or budget for, is when you wait for systems to fail before spending money. This can often be a symptom of: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. No defined IT strategy, or goals No business-IT alignment No IT service improvement plan No pro-active IT maintenance plan No IT measurement or reporting
Strategic Alignment
Link your business goals to IT goals.
Value Delivery
Optimise your IT costs. Prove the value of IT to business.
Standards like COBIT offer further clues:
Resource Management
Optimise your IT Investment. Optimise your IT Management Maximise Applications, Information, Infrastructure, People.
Risk Management
Understand compliance needs. Assess your appetite for risk. Ensure Transparency of risks.
Performance Measurement
IT Resource usage & performance Report IT Service Delivery Value.
Mistake #6
IT requires large investment
Unless youre building a new datacentre, and paying cash up front, IT does NOT require large investment. IT DOES however require CONSTANT investment, no matter how small, linked to an IT Strategy aligned with your business goals constantly measuring Return on Investment.
For SMEs - IT is not always about spending

money, as much as organising, managing and
reporting on systems & services in use already in a smarter, more profitable way
There are also IT financing options available today for larger infrastructure or project needs, helping you to spread and recover your costs over time when you dont have surplus funds available, some even tax-deductible as part of operating expenses. Coupled with the proliferation of Managed IT Services Providers (IT outsourcing that eliminate IT Staff or Expertise needs), you dont even need to own IT anymore, to profit from using it today.
The IT Strategy Group from an international banking and managed investment firm has decided to address the current economic downturn, by reducing investment into the IT organisation and Service Portfolio. As a result the quality of some key services fall, with the support organisation struggling to respond effectively to all calls for assistance. After a few months of lowered quality of service, the organisation loses a number of major customers to their primary competitors. In response to the loss of these customers, further budget reductions are planned to counter the decrease in revenue earned. By failing to realise their customers value perception of services through service quality, the organisation became caught in a negative cycle with potentially serious long term consequences.
- ITIL V3 Foundation Complete Certification Kit
Mistake #7
Buying on speification and price
Alex - sales rep for
ABC Inc. - needs a
Buying on price and specification alone cost SME companies fortunes every single year. It is not until you come to appreciate Total Cost of Ownership (covered later) that this will start making sense. Essentially, saving R 1000 now on the price tag of a new notebook, could cost you twice that over the next year, if that notebook does not ship with a manufacturer-supported warranty, guaranteeing parts availability locally, or does not conform to business support standards to lower the cost of maintenance, repairs and upgrades for its lifespan. Many entry-level notebooks sold at retail outlets ship with a Home operating system to reduce cost, yet limiting networking functionality options. Conversely, business class notebook ranges ship with a Pro OS, and extended 3-Year Next Business Day Onsite Service, where a technician is dispatched to replace faulty PC parts, at your place of business, the very day after reporting such fault.
new notebook
After some deliberation it comes down to price, with ABC subsidising 50% of the notebook purchase price, yet agrees to any support & maintenance costs incurred, as Alex will use it mainly for business. Fortunately, Alex has a friend who sells computers, from who he picks up a reasonably powerful, brand new notebook with 1-year warranty, and many extras, for nearly R 1200 less than any equivalent in-store. Delighted, Alex hands it over to ABCs IT Department for setup, only to find that the newly purchased notebook cannot be added to the companys network domain, because of its Home version OS loaded. This notebook will proceed to become problematic for Alex & ABC, costing them TRIPLE, to support and maintain, as it would if they bought a business class notebook for R 1500 more
Buying on price can cost you a fortune in IT
Mistake #8
IT demands onsite technical expertise
Rising hiring & placement costs, a shortage of skilled candidates, and accelerating IT complexity mean fewer SMEs can afford to appoint permanent IT staff today. Instead, many are now outsourcing some, if not all, of their IT support and services, eliminating operational & staff overheads or risks they would face with in-house IT. Service Level Agreements make it possible to outsource your entire IT department to an external provider, bound to guaranteed response times and service levels, reported back in regular IT Management meetings. Managed IT Service Providers also offer advisory, strategic, managerial & financial capabilities as part of a total outsourced IT Service Portfolio - some able to deliver corporate-class IT services to SMEs better than most in-house IT departments, for a fixed monthly fee, and very minimal risk. Outsourcing this way can offer measurable advantages & savings if managed smartly. Need some assistance with above? Click here
Gartner, Inc.
Egham, UK, January 18, 2010
Over the next two yea rs , bus i nes s dema nd for IT-dri ven growth a nd i nnovation will outstrip the s uppl y of qua lified people to fulfil job roles a nd a s res ul t tra di ti ona l IT ta s ks a re movi ng outside the IT department, s a id Debra Logan, vice president a nd di s tinguished analyst a t Gartner. The future of IT l i es outs i de the IT depa rtment. Increa s i ngl y CIOs a re comi ng from the bus i nes s a nd us ers a re ta ki ng control of thei r own i nforma tion del i very i nfra s tructure. By the end of 2010, Ga rtner predi cts tha t 40 per cent of peopl e who report i nto IT i n a ma tri xed fashion or directly wi ll ha ve s ubs ta nti a l bus i nes s a nd non -IT experi ence.
Orga ni s a ti ons need s ta ff wi th di fferent s ki l l s from the ones they were ori ginall y hi red for. Thes e a re not IT people as organis a ti ons know them. Sta yi ng rel eva nt i n thi s cha nging environment will requi re a new wa y of thi nki ng a bout orga nisational models and staffi ng i n IT projects , a dded Ms Loga n.
Mistake #9
Cutting IT Costs VS Total Cost of IT
Factors Impacting Total Cost of Ownership For IT
IT Operations
Tier 1 Support Tier 2 Support Tier 3 support Security Maintenance IT Administration
Cutting IT Costs can create huge problems, if you overlook its impact on Total Cost of Ownership. Where cutting costs, concern price or spend alone, Total Cost of Ownership considers lifetime costs thereafter, and all related expenditures associated. Sometimes, cutting costs on IT services or purchases could actually increase your Total Cost of Ownership. Example: A new notebook loaded with Pro operating system, and purchase price of R 6,900.00 will have a Total Cost of Ownership which adds the following to initial cost:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Maintenance costs over its lifespan Power Consumption Repairs/upgrades User and technical support costs Software licensing fees Notebook accessory purchases
General Administration Management User Training IT Training Disposal Power Consumption Management Software licensing Windows licensing
Should you now swap the Pro operating system for Home in attempt to cut costs on the Notebooks purchase price, youd effectively only double the support & maintenance costs, when trying to manage such Home Notebook on a Pro network.
Mistake #10
Short VS Long View on IT
One of the biggest management problems facing SMEs today in managing IT expenditure and value is not lack of technical quality as one would expect but rather the business & financial strategy and controls absent in 8 out of 10 IT infrastructures. This is proven by the fact that IT remains one of the leading unmanaged expenses in the SME sector today. It does present an opportunity for those willing to move beyond a transactional view of IT one of price and cutting costs - to a more sustained, business enabling, value adding and long-term profit-driving perspective and strategy. Do not underestimate what you can achieve in other areas of your business in only 3 years, once adopting a Total Cost of Ownership perspective on IT and the value it delivers in line with your chosen business goals, to your bottom line. The results will astound you, and the good news is that it is indeed measurable. Once you realise how central and instrumental IT really is to facilitating customer service, productivity and profitability, the long view on IT becomes much more sensible, and a business-aligned 3-5 year IT strategy more viable and obvious. Need some assistance with above? Click here How to create a successful long-term IT strategy
CIO Jeff Steinhorn transformed energy company Hess Corp.'s short-term IT project approach into a five-year plan to sync up with business objectives.
When Jeff Steinhorn joined Hess Corp. as CIO of its marketing and refining division in the summer of 2006, he discovered within the first two months of his tenure that the IT organization had historically taken a shortterm approach to project planning. That approach did help the IT group to determine the equipment it would need to buy and the personnel it would require to support those near-term initiatives. But project plans focused on the separate needs of each business division, says Steinhorn, so there wasn't a comprehensive evaluation of how each project might affect the overall IT infrastructure. And it hadn't become clear how Hess' IT projects fit into its longer-term business objectives as the company diversified from its roots in petroleum and expanded into natural gas and electricity over the past decade. "It became pretty clear that we needed to lay out a long-term strategy that would allow us to figure out how IT could support our businesses' strategies over the next five years," says Steinhorn, who was previously CIO at Linens 'n Things Inc. and was recently promoted to corporate CIO at Hess.
The situation that Steinhorn walked into when he joined Hess is far from unique. "The bulk of CIOs are in a predicament where they come into an [IT] environment that doesn't have a long-range plan," says Bobby Cameron, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc.
What we have covered

Because IT is not seen as a profit-generator (while indeed it can deplete profits when offline, or not working optimally) most SME executives fail to identify or prove any business value added by IT to their business goals, discarding any possibility of competitive advantage from IT, meaning it gets relegated to the expense column, where it remains a cash drain. Regarded predominantly as a technical conversation, most executives delegate IT to tech-heads or financial officers more concerned with either buzz words, cutting costs or simply plain keeping their jobs. Consequently, SME owners never get the needed, honest feedback or visibility regarding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of IT. As a result, they adopt a kind of If IT aint broke, dont fix IT mentality, making IT difficult to budget for, as the only time money is spent is when something has to be replaced due to lack of maintenance or optimisation, often requiring large investment at inopportune times, further eroding the confidence in IT as a source of strategic advantage. In such instances, purchase decisions get made on price and specification only, often lacking the needed technical expertise or business and financial perspective for the long term, resulting in constant cost reductions, killing productivity and customer service, instead of attempting to lower Total Cost of Ownership, offering a holistic view of IT through its entire value- and life cycle, to produce the results needed in pursuit of your business objectives.
Bonus Segment
Tips on
How to Overcome the TOP 10

IT Mistakes Costing SMEs
and start competing with the Giants
How to Overcome the 10 IT Mistakes

1. 2.
3.
Adopt a Profit-Centre view of IT Set IT goals, in line with business goals

Invest in preventative measures (IT insurance)
4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Reduce variable IT expenses to fixed monthly costs. Diversify your IT Investment & Service Portfolio Calculate Total Cost of Ownership & Cost of Downtime Secure the right IT skills pool - technical & otherwise Measure Return on IT Investment Create a Strategic IT Roadmap for the next 3 Years. Formulate and enforce a clear IT Policy
Tip #1
Adopt a Profit-Centre view of IT
Is Your IT Department a Cost
Centre or Profit Centre?

By Avish Parashar
Most organizations view IT as a cost centre; a necessary evil that paradoxically helps the business while taking focus away from the real business of making money.
IT limits access, forces people to switch to unfamiliar systems to "standardize," and pushes for expensive investments in software that others don't want and don't realize they need. You and I may know the value of your IT initiative or software package purchase, but that is not nearly enough. As long as the business views you as a cost centre, you will always meet resistance.
It might be hard to believe that the very first step in turning IT into your weapon of advantage has little to do with technology, business or finance but instead a paradigm shift - Psychology. Only once youre truly willing to consider a new perspective, will knowledge, skill & measurement present itself. Its really that simple to start with. Are you truly willing to adopt a new view on IT in pursuit of your ultimate goals? Or will you give it up in a month and relegate IT back to the expense column, where most find its fate? Decide or accept today, that IT even though you might not be technically inclined is indeed a centrepiece to customer service, operations and workforce productivity. IT determines to the largest extent how profitably you will serve staff, customers AND suppliers with the most critical business resource of all information.
It's important to realize that we are talking about perception here. IT will always be on the expense side of budgets. If you work for an IT company, then your contribution to the bottom line may be clearly evident. But if your department is one piece of a large corporate machine that doesn't specialize in technology, then you must prepare yourself for the fact that in a straight bookkeeping sense, IT will be seen as a cost centre.
Since you cannot change the accounting, you have to change people's perception. The more people in your organization who start to perceive IT as a profit centre, the better off you'll be.
Tip #2
Set IT Goals in Line with Business Goals
Lets explore this by using an example courtesy of ITIL V3 Foundation Kit:
Core business: Fashion Store.
Business Goal: Increase profits by 15% pa. Business Processes: Retail/sales Marketing Manufacturing Procurement Finance HR Critical IT Services: Websites & Intranet Communication e-Procurement Portal Point of Sale Systems IT Services must be: What we need (Service Level) Available when needed (Operating Level) Provided cost-effectively (IT Accounting)
If we dont manage critical IT services appropriately we cannot rely on them to be available when we need. If too many disruptions occur, we cannot adequately support our business processes effectively or efficiently.
Used properly, IT Service Management can optimise the time, effort and other resources spent performing technical activities, ensuring that all staff actions are working in accordance to agreed business priorities and objectives.
This is just a simple example used to illustrate the relationship between IT Service Management and the organisation. Any approach to improve ITSM practices should always be carefully considered to ensure the plans suit the organisation in terms of:
* Size: (staff, customers, IT devices) * Geographical Dispersion * Culture and Ethos * IT Maturity & Capability
Tip #3
Invest in Preventative Measures (IT Insurance)
It is estimated in some cases that as much as 25-40% of IT spending often starts from:
1. 2. 3. 4. Unsecure Networks, vulnerable to Malware Unprotected PCs, infected with Viruses Unmanaged bandwidth & network usage IT illiterate staff losing critical work or data
Unified Threat Management Tools to curb IT spending:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Firewall Web Proxy Service Web Monitoring Service E-mail Spam Filter Network Monitor Bandwidth Monitor
5. Abuse of company email & Internet by staff

According to IDC, 30-40% of internet time constitutes leisure browsing. 60% of online purchases are made during office hours. 64% of staff say they use the Internet for personal interest during office hours 70% of all Internet porn traffic occurs during the nine-to-five work day. 37% of workers say they surf the Web constantly at work. 27% of companies dismissed staff for e-mail/Internet abuse. 65% sited disciplinary action. 90% of staff say the Web can be a ddictive, 41% surf at work more than 3-hours per week. Around 80% of data crime originates from "insiders". 60% behind the Companys Firewall. Most studies show 70% of companies had sex sites accessed using their network.
When asking staff "Should employers regulate Web access at work?" over 60 % said yes. On average, staff spend 21 hours a week online at the office, and 9.5 hours at home 27% of Fortune 500s have defended against sexual harassment from inappropriate email. Proving "duty of care" toward unacceptable staff activity can minimise potential liability. Chevron faces a $2m lawsuit from an employee's email allegedly including sexist content. A company with 1,000 users can lose $35 million annually from just an hour of daily Web surfing by employees
Tip #4
Reduce variable IT expenses to fixed monthly costs
One of the biggest financial headaches for SMEs still remain erratic IT spending bills varying up & down monthly, making IT impossible to forecast or budget for, asking cash injections at inopportune times. This mostly results from lack of visibility on the health status of your systems, services and consumption - with no defined IT strategy, planning, monitoring or reporting. This supports evidence that the majority of IT problems are not technical by nature, but rather strategic, managerial and financial.
Financial Management Variable IT Cost Dynamics

Variable Cost Dynamics (VCD) focuses on analysing and understanding the multitude of variables that impact IT service cost, how sensitive those elements are to variability, and the related incremental value changes that result.
Below is a very brief list of possible variable service cost components that could be included in such an analysis:
Number and type of users Number of software licences Cost/operating footprint of data centre Delivery mechanisms Number and type of resources Cost of adding 1 more storage device Cost of adding 1 more end-user licence.
How can you fix this?

By spreading & levelling out all IT expenses evenly over the mid-term, in exchange for an IT strategy with measurable IT performance goals, and service improvement plans. (preferably for 2-to-3 years)
The key value derived from this body of knowledge focuses on more precisely determining what fixed and variable cost structures are linked to an IT service how a service should be designed and provisioned, and what value should be placed on a service.
Courtesy of:
http://www.itilfoundations.com/
Tip #5
Diversify Your IT Investment & Service Portfolio
The 3 Strategic
IT Investment
Categories:
Venture
3 2
Transform the Business (TTB)
Growth Discretionary
Starting with what little IT budget you might have currently, one goal for your mid-term IT Strategy will include maximising value & coverage for IT spend, but also adding or expanding systems & services through small incremental savings & gains you realise from current optimised IT, gradually expanding IT budgets for future coverage demand. This works exactly like an investment fund, re-investing dividends & interest back into the principle, for compounded returns. As your business grows, so will your demand for critical processes & services IT will support or bring competitive advantage to. This tends to sneak up on you when you do not make it a continuous, incremental effort catching many SMEs off-guard, and asking larger capital investment at inopportune times, if you dont have solid plans in place.
Grow the Business (GTB)
Non-Discretionary Core
Run the Business (RTB)
1. (RTB)
Maintaining Current Operations
Increase Efficiencies
2. (GTB)
Grow the scope of services Find New Customers
3. (TTB)
Create new capabilities
Enter New Markets
Tip #6
Calculate Total Cost of Ownership & IT Downtime
One of the vital questions we would ask any prospective client in a consultation is how much it costs them per hour if even one staff members system is offline mostly met with blank stares. If you cant put a value to that, how will you be able to prioritise spending? From experience it would seem 9 out of 10 SMEs do not know this answer, therefore having no foundation for their IT strategy. The four IT downtime cost points include: lost wages, lost productivity, lost revenue & cost of IT recovery. Its fairly simple to calculate.
IT Downtime Calculator
Calculating your hourly cost of IT downtime gives you an indication on how and where to prioritise IT spending.
Total IT Cost
Calculator
Gives you an idea of what you actually pay for a notebook or PC, Another question which often goes begging is over its lifespan, how much one single staff workstation costs allowing better-informed over the entire duration of its useful lifespan? IT purchasing decisions.
This would include user support, software, licensing, training, repairs, upgrades, power consumption, maintenance & disposal.
Tip #7
Secure the right IT skills pool technical & otherwise
Possible IT Skillsets
in demand by SMEs.
Service Roles Helpdesk Systems Admin Developer Security
An estimated 1-million tech-jobs remain vacant in the European IT sector, demand far outstripping supply of skilled candidates. On paper there are more than enough certified job hunters, most falling short of the practical skill, business acumen and soft skills marking todays IT Service requirements. Even for a field technician tech-skills are only the entry price. With no communication, business insight or emotional intelligence, such technician will be unable to guide users through the entire lifecycle of modern IT service calls. The IT technician of the future has outgrown the screwdriver-operator stereotype. ITIL now lists the IT engineer skillset in the following order of importance:
Process Roles Business Analyst Risk Manager Consulting Change Manager Sales
Governance Role - Team Leader - Manager Personality Strengths

Analytical Organised Assertive Visionary Leader Personable Patient Creative
1. Communication Skills 2. Technical Skills 3. Business Understanding
Tip #8
Measure Return on IT Investment
Three steps in taking IT out the expense column and turning it into a competitive weapon is to MEASURE where you are now; FORECAST where youd like to be; then MONITOR progress, until hitting your target. So what exactly would you measure?
Return on IT: Real-Options

In IT, investment cycles are long, and technology life cycles are short. How can you be sure to make the right bet? What does the right IT strategy look like? And what is the risk of having the wrong strategy? As we cannot foresee the future, these questions cannot be answered. In fact, they are the wrong questions to ask. The right questions are, How can we adapt to changing circumstances? and How can we measure the value of that agility?
There continues to be a very important relationship between IT resources and improved operational efficiencies/organizational effectiveness because IT has the most potential to provide new and better efficiencies and effectiveness through IT solutions and applications. However, this is not enough. Competitive advantage is created through organizational agility. It is possible to quantify the benefits of intangible assets, such as organizational agility and IT architectures, through the use of "Real Options". Real Options is a relatively unknown methodology, but it can create significant competitive advantage. Using Real Options in putting together the business case for IT initiatives can lead to dramatically different insights and decisions.
Taken from: An Oracle White Paper June 2010 Return on IT: Measuring Agility
Financial
How much are we spending on IT? What IT Budget do we have available? What is our Cost of Downtime?
Operational
Whats our ability to recover from a disaster? Are our business processes supported by IT? Do our systems promote or demote productivity?
Strategic
Scalability of our systems in line with goals? Agility to upscale or downscale? Does IT support our vision?
Tip #9
Create a Strategic IT Roadmap for the next 3-years
With the most important principles covered, it is now time to set some IT goals and map the path. What are the benefits of a 3-year IT plan, as opposed to a 1-year or 5-year plan? Essentially, you want your technology plans to keep pace with your business goals, and your business goals to stay appropriate to your technology. Although there will be a series of shorter goals inside your 3-year plan, 1-year will probably be just too short for making a meaningful, correlated measurement, while in 5-years, your technology might be obsolete. A 3-year plan also offers financial sensibilities. Most IT infrastructure & service agreements can be distributed over this period to offer affordable spread payments without any residual eclipsing its useful lifespan and utility. Refer to the left column, to get an idea of items appropriate for consideration in your roadmap.
Continual IT Service Improvement, Measurement & Reporting

IT Service Strategy
Demand Management Financial Management
IT Service Design
Supplier Management Security Management Catalogue Management Service Level Management Continuity Management Availability Management Capacity Management
IT Service Transition
Knowledge Management Deployment Management Configuration Management Change Management
IT Service Operation
Event Management Request Management Access Management Problem Management Incident Management Service Desk IT Operations Application Management Technical Management
Tip #10
Formulate and enforce a clear IT Policy
Can an employer be liable for An IT Policy Manual is a staff handbook & contract cyber-porn and sexual harassment in cyberspace of employees? outlining acceptable as well as prohibited practice
in usage of company IT resources, a cornerstone to protecting IT investments and staff productivity. Depending on how central IT is to your conduct of business and the investment you have made in IT to facilitate your business, it is recommended that signature of an IT Policy by all staff, be a basic condition of employment. Without it, you face tremendous risk financially, operationally and legally, and will not be able to initiate any internal disciplinary investigations or legal action, involving private communications. Points of interest include, but are not limited to: Suitability of Information E-mail and Internet usage Privacy and Monitoring Network and Software usage Home and Mobile usage Passwords, Security & Confidentiality Remote IT Support and Service Requests Duty of care
By Mr Sizwe Snail, attorney at Couzyn Hertzog & Horak
Undesirable and unlawful possession, use and/or decimation of pornographic material and/or child pornography at the work place is a punishable offence for which an employer may summarily dismiss an employee
However, the enquiry does not end here as the offender might have sent the indecent electronic material to fellow employees or third parties outside the organisation. This could seriously offend them and exposes the owner of the originating e-mail address to delictual claims for infringement of the employees and/or the third partys dignitas and fama. The possibility of an employee sexually harassing a fellow employee with the aid of obscene pornographic electronic material can also not be excluded and could result in the employer being held vicariously liable in a civil action as the employer has a duty to ensure sufficient measures are in place to prevent sexual harassment occurring at the workplace. Employers should make use of electronic content filters regularly to filter out suspicious and offensive electronic content to avoid its decimation on the local intra-net and or the larger world wide web through any of the employers communication devices. Regular content checks should be carried out and informal disciplinary action should be taken against offenders. Where it is clear that an informal warning cannot suffice, the institution of formal disciplinary proceedings should also commence. Endnote: SP Van Zyl (2006) An Employer vicarious liability with reference to e-mail and the internet De Jure 39 (1), p.127
By simply adopting a Profit-Centre view of IT in your business, as opposed to a cost centre, you can set measurable IT goals, in line with business goals and invest in preventative measures which can reduce your variable IT expenses considerably, and transfer them to fixed monthly costs, with guaranteed IT performance, service and operating levels. Monitoring this helps diversify your IT Investment & Service Portfolio for future growth and IT demand, ensuring that your IT capabilities keep trend with the growth of your business, so you wont need to invest large capital amounts at inopportune times. By calculating Total Cost of Ownership & Cost of Downtime, you are can prioritise IT spending and secure the right skills pool for the best possible Return on your IT Investment. Creating a Strategic IT Roadmap for the next 3 Years can help you with forecasts and budgets, as well as spreading purchase costs and payment over the lifespan of your infrastructure. Formulating a clear IT Policy on top of this, as a basic condition of employment, helps you eliminate any financial, operational and legal risk, helping you protect & optimise your IT investment.
IT Focus
IT Outsourcing and Managed IT Services
Courtesy ITWeb & Business Connexion
A total of 162 people responded to the survey, key demographics for the respondents have been broken down as follows:
Job function and level w ithin the organisation.
28.73% of respondents were either business owners, or belonged to executive management. 32.76% of respondents hold middle management positions. This means that the v ast majority (61.49%) of respondents hold middle management positions or higher.
Size of organisation.
Most respondents work either f or small organisations with f ewer than 21 staff members (25.29%) or v ery large companies with ov er 500 staff members (44.25%).
IT Service & Sourcing Distribution:
Key Findings
Executive Summary
Serv ice being used most: Managed services, is the service most used, with 29.59% respondents saying that it is used by their organisation. This is followed by hosting, used by 26.63% of the respondents' organizations. The third most used service is multi-sourcing, with 15.98% of respondents selecting this. Important factors when considering outsourcing services: Of the factors listed, most respondents saw SLA based services (fit for purpose) as being the most important when considering outsourcing services, with 36.30% of respondents rating it a five (very important) on a scale of one to five. This is followed by cost / potential savings, rated a five by 30.82% of respondents. The third most important factor for respondents was the ability to leverage supplier expertise to improve quality, rated a five by 26.03% of respondents. View on Software-as-a-Service: 34.25% of respondents' organisations are already using SaaS. An additional 21.92% are investigating these services. 19.18% have no plans to implement these services within the next six months. 9.59% have no plans to implement SaaS at all. 15.07% of respondents were unsure of their organizations plans regarding SaaS. View on cloud computing: Most organisations have a positive view on cloud computing with 24.66% of respondents saying that their organisation has embraced it and are acquiring services. An additional 28.77% of respondents say their organisation is considering applications for the cloud. 19.86% of respondents say that on premises ownership is still preferred. 4.79% of respondents are reluctant to adopt due to security issues and an additional 7.53% of respondents organisations are reluctant to adopt it due to other issues Most fav oured deployment model: A hybrid cloud is the most favoured deployment model amongst respondent organisations, with 34.62% of respondents selecting it. This is followed by own private cloud, selected by 23.08% of respondents. Private cloud is next selected by 21.54% of respondents. Only 6.15% of respondents indicated that a public cloud model was preferable. 14.62% of respondents indicated that they were unsure as to which model; was preferred by their organisation. Serv ices most likely to be put in the cloud: The top three services that organizations are most likely to be put into the cloud are: E-mail, selected by 70.00% of respondents Service desk, selected by 48.46% of respondents CRM, selected by 47.69% of respondents Security was the service least likely to be put in the cloud, selected by only 28.46% of respondents.
What is Managed IT?

Managed IT Services are delivered by Managed IT Service Providers (MSPs) to companies of all size & industry whether you employ 5 or 5000 staff connected to a computer network, enabling partial or full IT outsourcing on a subscription pricing model with benefits extending well beyond the scope of traditional IT departments or outsourced IT companies. Besides the technical aspects to IT, Managed Service Providers sometimes offer upgraded financial & management capabilities that can turn IT from a cost, into a strategic weapon so you can rival large companies without the cost, risk or complexity of managing IT in-house. A useful analogy to help understand the difference between outsourced IT, in-house IT departments, and MSPs, would be the difference between an accountant and a chartered accountant. Both can perform the technical task of bookkeeping, but the latter offers greater business insight & value. Now imagine if you were able to rent a chartered accountant full-time, for a fraction of the cost to company, of a normal accountant. This is the principle of Managed IT Services.
What can Managed IT Services include?
Guaranteed IT Support Response Unlimited Remote Technical Support Proactive Network Maintenance Desktop Monitoring & Reporting Server Monitoring & Reporting Network Monitoring & Reporting Asset Management Patch Management Anti-Virus Help Desk Facility Onsite Support Managed Data Backups IT Preferential Procurement Plan Software Licensing and Management Warranty and Supplier Management Virtual CIO Services IT Policy Formulation & Enforcement IT Advisory Services IT Cost-Accounting Unified Threat Management Strategic IT Planning and Reporting IT Compliance Services Consulting Services Project Management Infrastructure Analysis IT Investment Management IT Service Portfolio Management Many more
Managed IT Services is a fresh approach in managing IT, especially useful to SMEs. You can almost see it as renting an IT department with access to IT services only Corporations would have previously, yet at a fraction of the cost, risk, effort & staff management hassles. Conventional outsourcing IT companies only make money if your systems are down billing you per hour for support. Managed IT Services are beneficial to both the client and the provider, almost working on a profit-share basis. The pricing model is constructed so that both you AND THE PROVIDER lose money, when your systems are down or not working optimally further incentivising partnership, uptime, reliability, productivity and efficiency. The Managed IT Services offering provides customers a virtual IT department managed remotely from a NOC (Network Operations Centre) with remote control technology meaning all maintenance, repairs, monitoring & support of your systems & users happen online, without any engineers needed onsite drastically reducing your staff, infrastructure, support, maintenance and downtime costs. Just as mission control on a space station can launch, navigate and place a satellite into orbit or perform diagnosis & maintenance at the click of a button from earth, without needing to man the shuttle, so a Managed IT Service Provider can dial in, access and take control of
What are the benefits of Managed IT Services for your company?

For a fixed monthly fee you get everything an onsite IT department could possibly provide, and more
Increased productivity:
Decreased downtime Improved network performance
More reliable IT environment:

Proactive systems management Automated alerts & event notification Secure infrastructure Asset management
Access to experts on demand:

Experts respond to problems quickly No need to hire hourly consultants Monthly trend analysis with an expert All work follows best practices
your entire computer network and any device on it, right down to the serial number on your hard drive, through a single internet link and management software without having to be located at your business or network physically. This eliminates time wasted in waiting for IT technicians to arrive onsite, and their need to charge call-out fees, travel and other expenses. Does this pose any security or privacy threat? What about sensitive data or communications?
Financial Justification: Managed IT Services

Lower staff overhead.
The salary, benefits, and training associated with employing IT staff can often be the largest portion of a companys IT budget. Ondemand managed IT services provide higher quality, bettertrained IT support at Lower Total Cost of Ownership.
Any work performed remotely can only be Reduced expenses through approved by the relevant end-user. Remote improved IT-Accounting. access is handed over by clicking an ok button in an access request window displayed Through the standardisation and control provided by before any engineer can view or take control of managed services, your Virtual your workstation. No passwords can be seen by CIO can identify opportunities an engineer working remotely. Importantly, to reduce variable costs. ALL activities an engineer performs on your Increased cost predictability. workstation remotely, is permanently logged in Better predict, forecast, budget a registry, visible at any time, on demand. Network Operations Centres are manned by qualified IT support engineers and assisted by onsite support engineers in major cities for the small portion of IT service requests that cannot be resolved remotely like hardware changes.
and manage IT costs more accurately. Economies of scale.
A complete, established, current IT skills pool and infrastructure of support resources - at a fraction of the Live monitoring, alerting & controlling software cost and without the learning report directly to the Network Operations curve of employing your own IT Centre with remote remediation capabilities to staff, or funding your own IT department.
ensure your IT infrastructure and services run as efficient as possible 24/7/365.

This allows remote IT support engineers to Network Health Score identify or resolve almost 90% of all IT issues, 1. Patch Score sometimes even before they occur, and for the Determines how up-to-date your remainder, log into your network online and Microsoft updates are, company-wide. remediate any problems immediately, as if a This score is essential to IT health. technician was sitting behind your workstation, 2. Operating System Score but without having to dispatch anyone to your Scores the operating systems in use on every machine, including service pack place of business further reducing costs. A Service Level Agreement guarantees privacy, and, pre-decided service levels with response times suiting your budget, for any specific IT services, maintenance or support you want to outsource, for any number of users within your company, at a fixed monthly fee per user.
status. Machines with old operating systems will reduce this score.
3. Disk Score
Rates the individual and aggregated Hard Drive utilisation ratings of all users on your network. Disk capacity and usage can have an effect on speed and stability of your network.
4. Ticket Score In return for this, many Providers grant you Looks at how many support tickets are access to their Helpdesk, where your staff can logged on your IT helpdesk, by users in log in and report as many IT faults or service your company, how many cases are still open, unresolved, or solved within requests as they want tended to, for a fixed fee a specified Service Level Agreement time. per user, per month. The Service Provider is bound by minimum response and performance 5. Event Log Score measures for each incident summarised in Scans your server event log entries for monthly executive reports presented in an IT system errors and tasks that require immediate attention. management meeting.
Apart from proactive remediation, an MSP can Indicates a breach of clipping levels for events within your network. Notifies deliver value-added IT services remotely. Anti-virus on network-connected devices can be updated in real-time by pushing updates to every device on your network, without relying on end-users to install them (a common task dreaded by all, when having to wait for updates before start-up or shutdown).
6. Alarm Score
you of unauthorised changes to your IT infrastructure.
7. Server Uptime Score

Indicates the percentage of uptime for every server on your network. Measures IT productivity.
Any configuration changes to workstations by staff, like removing or adding components, can be recorded as alerts to notify you. Windows Updates can be automated and installed in offpeak hours, when workstations are idle, so productivity or service is not affected. Hard drive space can be monitored, notifying you of capacity levels, or the need to expand. IT Policies can be created to allow or prevent users from transferring certain file & data types Backups & transfers of data between machines can be automated at the click of a button, which would otherwise take hours. Network audits and discovery reports can show you at any instant a snapshot of your entire network and infrastructure, as well as its health status. Software versions and licenses can be managed and updated. Asset registers can be created without tagging devices physically. Inventory can be managed. To indicate a value estimate in hard figures: Cost of Managed VS Unmanaged Workstations.
What is an Electronic IT
Discovery Audit?
Its a quick, easy, automated software task that maps a complete inventory of your companys entire computer network, infrastructure & software, without the need for onsite consultants. It offers an at-a-glance view of your IT equipment, software, licence keys, serial numbers, network health status etc, all in one place, for technical, security, financial, insurance and maintenance use. You can purchase IT auditing software and learn to do it yourself, or ask a certified IT service provider to do an audit for you, which is often offered as a free service.
Is it safe? How does it work? It is completely safe. None of your companys data can be accessed, transmitted or tampered with. It relies on someone inside your company to install a small agent on your network that will automatically map the entire network infrastructure, and generate an executive IT report for you. The Agent can be downloaded from a website, or sent via e-mail. It does not include user rights or access privileges to your data. It works without compromising network security.
Total Costs of Notebook Ownership When Used by Travelling Workers, 2008 (US Dollars)
Notebook Ownership Direct costs End-user costs Total cost of ownership Unmanaged 2,899 7,023 9,923 Somewhat Managed 2,790 6,004 8,793 Moderately Locked and Managed Well Managed 2,660 2,590 4,983 4,440 7,643 7,030
Totals have been rounded. Source: Gartner (February 2008)
Additional to this Managed IT Service Providers can deliver powerful reporting, cost management & IT accounting services on staff network and internet usage or bandwidth consumption, as well as assistance for administrators in internal disciplinary investigations, regarding abuse or misconduct by staff using company IT resources and/or information.
Unified Threat Management allows you to filter communications, data and information flowing in and out your company, ensuring by law the suitability, legal compliance, security and authenticity that proves duty of care to avoid legal or financial risk in case of misconduct by staff in any electronic communications or collaborations on company systems.
Managed Service Providers are rated and certified by many standards, one such initiative being the MSP Mentor programme, who publishes an annual Top 100 list of MSPs worldwide meeting specific criteria.
These providers are not only able to advise you on issues like Total Cost of Ownership for IT, but comply with best practice IT methods such as:
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)
http://www.itil-officialsite.com/
COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and related Technology)
http://www.isaca.org/Knowledge-Center/COBIT/Pages/Overview.aspx
1. Business before Technology

Even though your provider of choice might be technically adept, make sure they understand your business. Are they willing to listen? Do they ask the right questions? Can they translate IT problems to BUSINESS drivers that make financial sense? An easy way to find out, before signing any agreements or opening your wallet is to ask them to do a quick audit of your IT infrastructure, and present their findings to your executive team. Such audit can be done electronically in virtually no time, with zero/little cost, and gives you an opportunity to test-drive their expertise and abilities.
2. Check some Data

If they offer a virtual helpdesk as part of a managed IT services offering, ask them for an executive summary of the last months call centre resolution metrics, for all their current customers. If they have nothing to hide, this should not be a problem. An executive summary does not reveal any confidential information about their customers, so there should be no reason for any provider to deny you access to this data. Ask them to talk about some of their previous IT takeovers, and project experiences. Other metrics that might be helpful is total network uptime for all their clients.
3. Start with the End in mind

Make sure you understand what would be required to terminate the partnership. If they have access to your systems and information, what would be required for you to change providers if you were not happy with their service? If an SLA is involved (Service Level Agreement), what guarantees are there, and what penalties apply, if commitments and deadlines are unmet? Do they offer any kind of money-back guarantee if their performance falls short of industry standards?
4. Talk to their Customers - PERSONALLY

Dont simply ask for a customer reference. Ask for contact details of 2 or 3 of their customers, and phone them personally. Remember even if they provide references, they will likely offer you their best 2 or 3 customers. Compare these companies to yours in size, scope & complexity. Ask them why they decided to go with this particular provider, and how and where they came across them.
Press Release
Numata Business IT soars with Kaseya
Numata Business IT was established in 2004.
For Numata Business IT, established in 2004, a decision to work with Kaseyas automated managed service solution was The vision was to create a company that fully simple. Kaseya, the worlds leading comprehends both IT and business - and how to best provider of this type of solution, fits exactly utilise IT, to achieve enhanced business results. into the companys ethos and strategy.
By appointing only highly-skilled professionals & business leaders, Numata quickly gained market share, investing all returns back into infrastructure & skills development. This decision along with our unique business model has proven sound, enabling Numata to rise to the top of its market niche, serving SME companies with between 10 and 150 IT end-users in all provinces and major centres of South Africa & beyond. Today, Numata boasts an unequalled skills pool with exceptional customer service, streamlined processes and an impressive infrastructure with impeccable track record that accompanies our reputation for being different - being the best at what we do rated No. 5 Managed IT Services Provider in Africa, and climbing Numata aims to deliver exceptional IT solutions, with chart-topping service levels, best-of-breed products, and services that exceed our clients business goals. We specialise in IT solutions & services exclusively for business, engendering a culture among our employees to always be the best in what they do. Our vision is to establish a brand embodying unequalled IT solutions and services that enables our clients to succeed in business. Every Numata Employee lives the Companys Values:
Integrity i n all business endeavors Honesty towards our cl ients and co-workers Res pect for our clients a nd business partners, irrespective of thei r status Ca ndor when i t comes to our beliefs a nd opinions Loya l ty towards our clients a nd our company Profes sionalism in a ll forms of i nteraction Cons tantly strivi ng to be the best i n e verything we do
Companies simply want world-class IT solutions, without the risk of investing in their own departments, and the headaches attached to running it themselves. Having said that, handing over control of your IT operations to an outside company, is a big step. Customers need to be able to trust us, and see a demonstrable, concise and measurable difference, before they consider that. Even then it is a tough decision. Numata Business IT does not only manage clients technology essentially, it manages their information, and how effectively that transpires into profit for them. Kaseya makes our job easier, and generally, once a customer sees the scope and functionality, not only technically, but from a business perspective they experience greater peace-of-mind in making their decision, says Jakobus Koorts, CEO of Numata Business IT.
Numata offers the modern small-tomedium company a scalable, pro-active, total-outsourced and managed IT solution/service, to help them take charge of IT in ways that make more business sense, and delivers the most measurable value, without the risks and headaches of running an in-house IT department.
This means we partner with our customers, helping them move away from the traditional, reactive, break-fix way of doing IT, to a more intuitive model where IT is not just a cost-centre, but becomes a value-added part of your business strategy. This is why Kaseya fits so well in our business. It allows us to deliver seamlessly on aspects of what we offer our clients, explains Koorts.
The Numata Promise

When signing with Numata, you get more than just an IT Company. You get an IT-&-Business Advisor specialising in Business Technology.
Although we have some of the best IT staff in the country, we specialise in business. We will show you how working with us, pays for itself in savings. We prefer to share in your success, instead of just billing you by the hour. You will always be able to reach us (0861 NUMATA). We will always respond quickly to your calls. Well never confuse you with tech-talk. Well always translate your IT problems into understandable language and remedies youll be able to verify with a second opinion if you wanted or needed to. As a customer of Numata, youll never pay for more than you use, but always GET MORE than you need. Well never charge you by the hour for our mistakes. We take full responsibility for your business success, not just your technology. Well never cut corners to save a buck now that could hurt us in the long run. All our sales models, services and processes are built on win-win, annuity-based, flat-rate revenue models, meaning we lose money, if your systems are down. So we invest heavily to make sure we prevent problems; that your systems run smoothly, maintaining them daily, instead of repeatedly having to allocate people and resources to fix problems. With us as your IT partner, you will NEVER need to worry about IT ever again. If at any time, you feel that we are not delivering on our commitments to you, we will not take your money. We will not take you as a customer, if there is no value to have you as our customer. We think of ourselves as IT venture capitalists in your business success. All we mean to say is that our quality as provider, is measured by the quality of customers we associate with - and the visible difference we make on your monthly executive IT report. So if at any time you feel that we have not delivered 100% on our commitments to you, we wont bill you until you are 100% satisfied we did.
Guaranteed.
With Numata Business IT, we PROMISE you are in safe, capable hands.
Signed by:
J.G. Koorts - CEO Numata Business IT Need some assistance with above? Click here
So where do you START?

Step 1
Decide how important IT is to you long-term, in serving customers, staff and suppliers as profitably as possible. Decide whether you will use IT to run your business, grow your business, or transform it...
IT Downtime Calculator
Calculating your hourly cost of IT downtime gives you an indication on how and where to prioritise IT spending.
Step 2
Calculate your Total Cost of Downtime, and Total Cost of Ownership (How much are you truly spending on IT currently, and what does it cost you when systems are down.) to prioritise IT spending.
Step 3
Review your business goals. Determine the critical IT functions that will help you get there as soon and as profitably as possible. Map out the IT processes.
Total IT Cost
Calculator
Gives you an idea of what you actually pay for a notebook or PC, over its lifespan, allowing betterinformed IT purchasing decisions.
Step 4
Set IT infrastructure and service improvement goals that will help you draft a Strategic IT Roadmap, measureable for no less, or loneger than 3-years.
Step 5
Start monitoring & measuring all aspects of your IT infrastructure, usage, spending, performance, staff, service delivery or consumption. Conduct an IT audit and network discovery for visibility on all infrastructure assets & configurations of endpoints.
Need assistance? Just tick below, and Submit
Current IT issues in my business

Little to no control over system and software access/usage by staff. Zero visibility on bandwidth usage, until receiving the bill. No backups of company e-mail, unless staff archive their own Inboxes. Staff downloading/installing software that slow down systems, or attract viruses. No reliable data backups made of critical business information and applications. Company data stored on employee workstations, instead of centrally and securely. Weak network security. Slow systems infected with malware and viruses. No reliable/secure mobile access for staff wanting to connect from home or in the field. Unforeseen IT support bills for hardware or network repairs and/or maintenance. Exorbitant call-out charges for hardware and software support. Having to replace newly-purchased IT equipment, not living up to business expectations. No standardisation on procurement, or warranty management for equipment purchased. High IT support costs for IT-illiterate staff No consolidated IT policy for HR or internal disciplinary purposes. No reporting on network usage, health status, risks or opportunities. No IT strategy, measurement, or alignment with business goals. No IT Service Level Agreements to try and eliminate costly downtime. No IT compliance, governance or continuity/disaster recovery planning.

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Top-10 IT Mistakes Costing SME&#39;s Fortunes - Even BEFORE Any Tech-Talk

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IT Mistakes Costing SMEs

The SME Decision Makers NON-technical IT Guide:

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Avoiding 10 Costly IT Mistakes most SMEs make

This e-book is a culmination of daily efforts stretching 7-years

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The Million-Dollar IT Question Every SME Executive Asks

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Top 10 Mistakes made by SMEs in IT

IT is difficult to budget for.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

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LOST REVENUE = (GR/TH) x I x H

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Grow the business (GTB)

Transform the business (TTB)

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Egham, UK, March 10, 2008

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Annual cost of IT failure:

Why should your IT systems be different?

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Standards like COBIT offer further clues:

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For SMEs - IT is not always about spending

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Buying on price can cost you a fortune in IT

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What we have covered

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How to Overcome the TOP 10

and start competing with the Giants

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How to Overcome the 10 IT Mistakes

Adopt a Profit-Centre view of IT Set IT goals, in line with business goals

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Centre or Profit Centre?

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5. Abuse of company email & Internet by staff

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Top-10 IT Mistakes Costing SME's Fortunes - Even BEFORE Any Tech-Talk

Top-10 IT Mistakes Costing SME's Fortunes - Even BEFORE Any Tech-Talk